Familiarity Breeds Witchcraft (15 page)

They combined their energies and sent them at the building in one final push.

They finished…and the building stood.

A great cry of joy went up in unison from all the members of the Secret Hallow coven.

No one cheered louder than Fox. She leapt up so high she landed in Gemma’s arms and the two of them tumbled to the ground in a tangle of cloth, limbs, and laughter. Enid came over and dropped down to grab them both in a big hug.

Soon, others joined in, until they’d created a pile of bodies on the ground in front of the new-built school. The life-force of all those who’d come before wove in amongst the jubilant group and intensified the feelings to a crescendo so intense Gemma felt she couldn’t handle all the positive energies.

She knew then she’d bonded with the coven in a way she’d never before managed and that she’d no longer need to spend most of her time hiding from them. If they meddled—well, it might be annoying, but she would understand the intent. The love. And Gemma would embrace it.

All thanks to Fox.

By the time the pile of bodies broke up enough for Gemma to get to her feet and brush the grass off her dress, many others had wandered inside the Academy, eager to see the final results. Heads poked out the upstairs windows, their owners waving at the few people who still milled around on the lawn, drinking in the view of the exterior.
 

Gemma couldn’t go inside just yet for fear of losing control of her raw emotions. The structure looked so much bigger than she’d imagined and presented a more cohesive façade than ever before. After all, they’d demolished the remnants of several smaller old buildings before starting work on the single new one.

“Well?” Enid asked. “Are you coming inside or not?”

Fox took her hand and squeezed in an encouraging way.

She smiled down at her friend. “I guess so,” Gemma said past the tears once again threatening to escape her. Happy ones, this time. “If I must.”

The interior looked just as good as the exterior; a blend of old architecture and new construction, with magic-supplied furniture filling up the rooms. A gentle glow of lanterns showed baskets of pumpkins, squash, and gourds on every surface, making the Academy look much like a new sibling of the Leif farmhouse. Gemma spotted glimmers of her own power in the numerous outlets on every wall; they’d need plenty of outlets to handle all the computers she planned to install.

Fox followed her gaze. “The ComePayMe money can be used for new equipment now that you don’t need to use the funds to build this place.”
 

“I like the way you think,” Gemma said as she envisioned a shopping trip. She’d ordered all her own computers, except her first of course, online. Going to the city to buy enough equipment for each prospective student seemed like an exciting opportunity. Maybe she could convince Fox to help her out since she was also pretty tech savvy.

They found a large group of coven members standing at the base of the sweeping staircase making pleased noises, the finished product as grand as Gemma had imagined when she’d seen the ramshackle remnants of the old one during her childhood. She made her way through the group, excited to be able to put her foot on the lowest step with the knowledge the tread would hold. She shouldn’t have been so surprised, but laughed a little anyway, delighted to be able to climb up to the second floor.
 

“I bet we’ll find a great view upstairs,” Fox said, her hand caressing the polished wood of the railing, though careful to avoid the twinkling lights decorating the balusters. “That was one of my first thoughts when I came into town.”

At the top of the stairs they found a room made up of almost all glass walls. As they stood together, they not only saw most of Secret Hallow twinkling in the dark, but also the numerous colorful strands of magic whirling throughout the town, as the powers so often did in the aftermath of a big working like the reconstruction of the Academy.
 

Fox clapped her hands as she gave a delighted laugh.

“This wouldn’t have happened without you,” said Gemma. “You coming to Secret Hallow will be remembered as a very important turning point in the history of our coven. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

“Oh, no. You’d have figured something out.” Fox spoke without taking her eyes off the view. “I have no doubt of that at all.”

Gemma knew Fox had, in her own excitable way, willed the Ash Academy into existence once more. If her friend could’ve rebuilt every board with her own magic, Gemma knew in her heart she would have woken up one day to find the school intact, a grinning Fox bouncing on the front lawn. With a little more training, Fox would be a serious force for good.

“I will admit this might have taken longer without me around.” Fox gave a wooden support a fond caress.
 

So far, she’d treated the building the way Gemma imagined she’d treat the love of her life. Her smile faded away as she recalled that they’d be casting that love spell for Fox once everyone’s powers returned to full strength. Fox would then be able to treat her new love the way she now treated the school.

The thought hurt more than Gemma could ever have imagined.

THE REMNANTS OF that night’s magic followed the trio back to Gemma and Enid’s house. Power sparkled in Gemma’s hair like glitter, ran up and down Fox’s arms and illuminated her piercings, and even lit the colorful accents on Enid’s dress.

They stopped and took a group selfie, giggling like school girls on spring break.
 

Gemma decided she’d do her best to maintain a positive attitude until Fox went back to her own life again. She didn’t want her friend to think they didn’t appreciate all she’d done for the Secret Hallow coven. Fox deserved to be treated with as much respect as she’d shown everyone else in the village. She deserved a lot more than that, in fact. She deserved a happy and fulfilled life.

Other witches stumbled through the streets toward their own homes as the party broke up for the night. In the distance, the Ash Academy stood tall and proud in the moonlight, a testament to the strength of friendship and love.
 

Gemma hoped the building would remain a positive symbol for generations to come.

If nothing else, it would keep precious little Siobhan in the town.

Once they reached the house again, they crossed the threshold into darkness. The traces of power didn’t follow them inside because most houses in the village were warded to prevent the accidental mingling of personal and group magic. Light continued flashing outdoors, bathing the room in ever-changing swirls of color.

“Looks just like Christmas lights,” said Fox as she shook her head. “My neighbors get carried away at the holidays. They’ve even been on one of those ‘Extreme’ television shows because they cover every inch of their house and yard. You should watch!” She smiled over at Gemma. “I’ll send you a link.”

“That would be fun. They sound lovely.”
 

“Well,” Enid closed the door. “If you really see that much leftover magic…”

“There’s lots! So much more than I’ve ever seen in one place before!”

Enid gave Fox a fond smile. “I believe you!” She crossed to place a gentle hand on Gemma’s arm. “Tonight may be the best night for us to cast the love-seeking spell. We can tap into all the residual power…”

Pain stabbed Gemma’s heart when the moment she’d been dreading arrived. “Shouldn’t we all recuperate first?” She looked from her sister to Fox and back again.

Concern shadowed Enid’s eyes and she realized her sister didn’t mean to cause her any more hurt; she only wanted to keep the promise they’d both made to Fox, who’d been so helpful to them.

Fox danced in a circle. “You’re totally right, Enid. Let’s get to work!”

Gemma couldn’t remember ever before going from euphoria to hopelessness in such a short span of time.

Her body reacted to her emotions in such a physical way she couldn’t catch her breath. Her heart thudded in her chest in the slow, even tempo of a dirge, the beats thumping against her eardrums. Yet she couldn’t ask Enid to drop the idea when Fox was listening. Gemma couldn’t even act upset. She gripped her shaking hands together behind her back, blinking away the tears threatening to fall from her burning eyes. She managed to say “
Enid
” in a pointed manner that maybe sounded a little more angry than she’d meant.

Her sister’s sympathetic look almost caused her to lose all control over her emotions.

Shaking her head, Gemma began to walk away. She could go up to her room and play music and pretend none of this was happening…

No. She couldn’t pretend. She could play music so no one could hear her cry, maybe.
 

Before Gemma could get past the first step, Fox grabbed her hand.

“Hey, babe.”

She turned to find her friend watching her with a confused expression instead of her normal ear-to-ear grin. Stepping up next to Gemma, she spoke in a low, soft voice. “The school’s ready. Now’s the time for my spell…and you know this means I’ll be leaving Secret Hallow tomorrow, right?”

Fox didn’t need to tell her that. Of course she’d already known. If Fox found the love of her life, of course she’d go in search of her right away. She’d have no reason to wait. They’d wasted enough of her time already.
 

Gemma nodded for Fox’s benefit.

“Please don’t go upstairs. I don’t want to lose the last of our time together.” Fox squeezed her hand. “Stay with me for the casting? Please?”

A part of Gemma that saw the moment for the opportunity it was. She could break off their friendship, a clean break, let Fox go find her love, and fade into the background of Fox’s memory.

If she were lucky, they might manage to salvage an acquaintanceship that would allow them to check in with each other from time to time. Fox would have the life she deserved, and Gemma would have…well, the same life she’d had up to this point, just with less Fox interaction and more coven time. Would that be so bad?

Yes
, said a pathetic little voice in the back of her mind.
How will you survive without her?

She couldn’t prevent the spell from happening. Gemma knew well enough that the hardest times in life happened whether she wanted them to or not. She’d grown up in Secret Hallow, where maybe things didn’t evolve as much as they did in the mundane world, but nothing remained the same.

People grew up, married, bore children, and died. Not everyone stayed in the village for their entire lives, either. Look at Rowan’s parents. Even now, with the Ash Academy rebuilt, Rowan might yet decide to take her family to another place. Garrett might find a job he really wanted elsewhere and take his family with him. Enid might just reverse her stance on love and move away.

Cauldrons!
Though she thought the situation unlikely, maybe Gemma herself might feel the need to move on, too.

At this moment in time she had Fox
here
. The other woman held Gemma’s hand, asking Gemma to stay for the casting with both her words and eyes, the stiffness of her posture an indication of just how much she hoped Gemma would agree.
 

And Gemma
wanted
to stay.

“Okay,” Gemma said, her voice steadier than she’d expected. “Of course I’ll stay.”

Fox gave Gemma a brilliant smile and squeezed her hand. They then walked into the kitchen together to find Enid hovering over the cauldron. Her sister gave a smile that Gemma recognized as a promise that everything would be okay. Though a little forced, in a happy but worried way, Enid looked as though she’d pushed her smile a little farther than was natural for her.

“We need to join both our hands as I cast this,” Enid said to Fox. “Do you want Gem to hold onto you while we work?”

“Absolutely!” Fox said. “Ooh, do we get to do that chant we talked about earlier? I’ve been practicing in my head over and over again so I wouldn’t forget.”

Enid snickered a bit. “I have the words written down, you know,” she said, nodding toward a piece of paper lying next to the cauldron. “And it’s only two sentences.”

“You’re ruining how impressive this is!” Fox winked at Gemma. “You start, I’ll join in.”

Enid squared her shoulders. “I seek true love from a natural degree,” she said in a voice that reverberated throughout the kitchen. “Please show me where to find it, so mote it be.”

Gemma choked back a laugh that could have just as easily been a sob. Spells didn’t often go with such showy behaviors. Enid must have been milking that one for some reason. She just couldn’t figure out why.

Fox met Enid on her level, repeating the two sentences, eyes closed, standing as tall as possible for her short stature. A gentle smile curved her lips, her snakebite piercings glistening in the firelight.

Magic spiraled out of the cauldron and circled around them all, brushing through Gemma with a soft touch, then encompassed everything until the room became a glowing sphere of light. Gemma knew the spell would increase in power until the brilliance almost blinded them before bursting in a shower of sparks and reforming into a cord.

The cord would remain visible to Fox for as long as necessary, but people like Enid and Gemma, who used magic all the time, would only see the first few moments and only again if they accessed their magic.

If the love of Fox’s life were mundane, she’d probably never see the cord at all. She would never see something so beautiful—something that could tie her to Fox for the rest of her life.

Gemma closed her eyes before the spell reached its peak. The intensity of the light didn’t hurt as much as the expression she imagined she’d see on Fox’s face when she first saw the link leading off to the love of her life.

With her eyes closed, Gemma’s other senses sharpened and everything became extra intense: from the feeling of the ridges on Fox’s shirt against her palm, to the smell of pumpkin and herbs, and the ringing echo of the chanting voices in her ears. Even with her eyes closed, she still registered the burst of magic, both because the brilliance shone through her eyelids and from Fox’s gasp of surprise. If the spell were anything like the ones she’d seen before, the effect would be pretty spectacular, especially to someone unfamiliar with the experience.